PSCO Presentation: 25 March, 2004

"Watchers, Giants, and Forbidden Lore: Some Angelological/Demonological Prosopographies in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam"
(Presentation, Handout)
Annette Reed, McMaster University

"Solomon, Demons and Magic in Early Judaism and Christianity"
Sarah Schwarz, University of Pennsylvania

The FOURTH session of the current PSCO year will be held on Thursday, 25 March 2004, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Princeton University. Those who wish to dine together beforehand will meet at the Religion Department Lounge in Class of 1879 Hall (Washington at Prospect) at 6 pm for a light dinner. Please let Bob Kraft know ASAP if you plan to dine with us (cold-cuts, salad, etc.), so we will know how much to order. Contributions to the costs will be collected from those who are able (e.g. $6 each) — the PSCO treasury will make up any difference. The seminar will follow at 7:00 pm in the same building. (For map information, see map of 1879 Hall http://www.princeton.edu/cgi/map and/or http://www.princeton.edu/pr/visitors/map.html )

Suggested Readings

1 Enoch 6-16, 64, 69; Jubilees 5:1-11; 8.1-4; 10:1-14

L. Grabbe, "The Scapegoat Tradition: A Study in Early Jewish Interpretation," JSJ 18 (1987): 152-67.

B. Heller, "La chute des anges: Schemhazai, Ouza et Azael," Revues des Etudes juives 60 (1910) 202-12.

A. Y. Reed, What the Fallen Angels Taught: The Reception-History of the Book of the Watchers in Judaism and Christianity (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 2002), chapters 3 and 7 ("Primeval History and the Problem of Evil: The Watchers and the Book of the Watchers in Pre-Rabbinic Judaism"; "The Apocalyptic Roots of Merkabah Mysticism? The Reemergence of Early Enochic Traditions in Rabbinic Judaism")

L. Stuckenbruck, "The 'Angels' and 'Giants' of Genesis 6:1-4 in Second and Third Century BCE Jewish Interpretation: Reflections on the Posture of Early Apocalyptic Traditions," Dead Sea Discoveries 7 (2000): 354-77. [Annette is willing to forward PDF versions of her chapters and/or of the articles (Grabbe, Heller, Stuckenbruck) to anyone interested; please email her at ]

For the Solomon material, Duling's introduction to the Testament of Solomon in Charlesworth's Old Testament Pseudipigrapha is a readily available place to start.

Anyone wishing to do further reading might look at Pablo Torijano's book, Solomon the Esoteric King: From King to Magus, Development of a Tradition (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 73; Brill 2002).

For some backgrounding on the topic (which is a continuation of the previous year's topic), see the PSCO web page for the topic and especially Kraft's Introduction to Parabiblical Literature (with links to electronic versions of M. R. James' Lost Apocrypha and similar materials with early Christian focus).

PSCO

Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins

PSCO Presentation: 25 March, 2004

Suggested Readings